Bonding
by unbrokensaviorwithperfecthair
Summary: Mary Margaret Blanchard and Emma Swan are complete opposites in every way. It turns out, though, that they have very similar problems. Emma and M.M. bonding after 'The Shepard'. Spoilers for that episode. Also, bonding in general, so spoilers for 1X08
1. Chapter 1

**I'M SURE THEY'LL BE A FEW MORE LIKE THIS WRITTEN BY OTHERS, BASED ON LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE. THIS MAY OR MAY NOT BE A ONE-SHOT, DEPENDING ON HOW I FEEL IT SHOULD GO AFTER I FINISH THE ENDING. ENJOY!**

**DON'T OWN IT.**

Mary Margaret sat at the bar, nursing her glass of vodka, some stray tears running down her cheeks. In her peripheral vision, she saw someone take a seat next to her. Figuring it was that lame doctor, she snapped,

"I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Sorry about that. It's not like I knew David would regain his memory right before he went to meet you." Emma said.

"Oh, Emma… Sorry. I thought you were someone else." the brunette stammered.

"It's okay. And I really am sorry about my advice."

"It's not your fault. I knew what I was walking into, and…" Mary Margaret took a shuddering breath. "Anyway, you don't need to hear my sob story. You should just go home and get to bed. You're finally off your shift." She glanced at the clock. "Actually, shouldn't you still be on your shift?"

"Let's just say my boss let me off early." Emma signaled the bartender over. "I'll have a beer."

"What happened?" Mary Margaret questioned.

"Believe me, I would love to tell you." Emma answered.

"Classified, official police business?" for the first time in a few hours, both women cracked a smile.

"No. It's just… It feels wrong to say it. I don't know why, but one of the people it involves seems like a really nice guy who's made a few bad decisions. Or was coerced into it. Probably the latter." Emma took a swig of her beer.

"Sheriff Graham and Mayor Regina." Mary Margaret was very good at reading between the lines. It was _her_ super power.

"You said it, not me." Emma replied.

"Wow. Just… wow."

"So," Emma said, changing the subject, "Talk."

"I just thought he was a good guy, you know?" the tears threatened to fall again. Inwardly, Emma winced. This was going to be rough. She could handle angry people, but crying people? That was not her forte. She wasn't exactly the comforting type. She only offered to listen because Mary Margaret seemed to really need an ear. "I thought I could actually have a relationship. I know it was stupid. The worst part is, I knew _exactly_ what I was getting myself into. I childishly let myself get led on. It's like I purposely got myself hurt. Why would anyone do that?" And now the alcohol was taking effect.

"To punish themselves." Emma shrugged. She had had some pretty dark days in her teenage years. At the time, inflicting physical pain seemed like the only way to deal with the emotional pain. She didn't have anyone to talk to; as she had once said, she was a friendless orphan.

"But what did I ever do wrong? I've never stolen, I'm friendly, kind. What did I do to make myself feel as though I deserved this kind of pain?" she looked at Emma, searching her for answers.

"I don't know." Emma said.

"What do I do?" She asked.

"Sure you want to ask me for advice again?"

"If anyone knows how to move on and get past pain, it's you." Mary Margaret said. Emma wished this was true. All she did was lock it up and hope to never see it again.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but you need to forget about him. He's made his choice, and now you have to choose to let him go."

"But that seems so hard."

"Why waste your time with someone who's not worth it?" Emma smiled reassuringly at the brunette.

"You're right. I mean, he obviously loves his wife… but he said he has feelings for me!" Mary Margaret said.

"That's already a red flag. If he cares for two women, who's to say that if he chooses you, he won't fall for somebody else?"

"Nobody else comes to Storybrooke." Mary Margaret mumbled.

"I'm new." Emma said.

"According to Henry, you're in the book."

"You believe in that?" Emma looked at her incredulously.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I don't know if everything that's happened is a coincidence." Mary Margaret said. "But this might be the alcohol talking. Enough about me. You're at a bar, presumably to drink yourself into oblivion for a night."

"Not into oblivion, no. Maybe just numb." Emma shrugged. "It's not a big deal."

"So two things happened." Mary Margaret observed. "Before, you said you'd love to tell me."

"It's complicated." Emma said.

"Of course it is." She gave the blonde a knowing look. "You have feelings for Sheriff Graham."

"After what I learned tonight, I've been forced to acknowledge them." Emma said. "I didn't realize how much I actually care for him. My second week here, Henry ordered me hot chocolate." she smiled at the sweetness of her son. "I marched over to Graham, thinking it was him who had ordered it, and, long story short, told him I'm not interested and to bug off. Looking back, I now realize that I wished it had been him." Now, she smiled sadly.

"It sucks."

"It definitely sucks." Emma agreed.

"I can tell you not to pursue him. I know how much you want to, believe me. You get angry easily. Use that anger to make you not like him." Mary Margaret advised.

"Easier said than done." Emma replied.

"Isn't it always? I think we should go home, before either of us is too intoxicated to drive. Although, I think you better drive… I'm feeling not so great…" Mary Margaret said.

"Yeah." The women paid their tabs, and took Emma's 'bumble-bee' car. The ride was in comfortable silence, which was okay. Mary Margaret figured she got all that she was going to get out of her companion, though she was still intrigued by the blonde. She felt as though she had known her all her life, but in reality, they'd only known each other for a few weeks. The ride was short, and they soon collapsed onto the couch. Then, Emma did something that shocked Mary Margaret. She let down her walls the tiniest bit, but it meant everything to the teacher to know that Emma trusted her enough.

"I'm just so sick of fighting how I feel about everything. Ever since I was 17, I've pretended not to feel, because it's just so much easier." Emma's voice was starting to shake, but she couldn't stop the words from pouring out of her mouth. "For once, I want to give in to temptation, and let go. But every time I've done that, I've gotten hurt." Emma explained. "I'm so tired, and so sick of getting hurt." It took everything the blonde had not to cry, and it broke Mary Margaret's heart. She knew it took a lot to make the tough-as-nails bail bondsperson cry, but she had also instantly seen past her façade when they met.

"The only one you have to worry about is Mayor Regina." Mary Margaret said. "I promise you that you can trust me. I will _never_ intentionally hurt you."

Emma looked at the brunette with watery eyes. "Do you know how many times I've heard that, and then they've hurt me anyway?"

"I know. But Emma, you can _always_ talk to me, okay? Always." In Mary Margaret's eyes, all Emma saw was sincerity. And for some reason, she truly believed the older woman's words.

"Thanks." She replied.

"Well, I'm going to go take some aspirin for the hanger over I'm going to have tomorrow, and call it a night. I suggest you do the same." Mary Margaret said.

"I think that's a brilliant idea." Emma agreed.

**I WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE THIS… I LIKE THE IDEA, BUT I'M NOT SURE HOW OR IF I EVEN SHOULD. THOUGHTS?**


	2. Chapter 2

**THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE REVIEWS. WOW, I REALLY WASN'T EXPECTING THAT MUCH FEEDBACK! YOU GUYS GAVE ME SOME IDEAS, AND MOST TIE IN WITH THIS, SO I THINK I'LL WORK THEM INTO IT. THANKS, IT MEANS SO MUCH. IF ANYONE WANTS TO GIVE ME MORE REQUESTS/IDEAS, I'D BE HAPPY TO HEAR 'EM!**

**DON'T OWN IT.**

Mary Margaret opened her eyes, and instantly squeezed them shut against the blinding light. The pounding headache was now starting to register, and she groaned. Next, the nausea hit. She sniffed; the scent of hot chocolate and cinnamon wafted in from the kitchen. Slowly, she rolled off the bed, and found her way to the kitchen, her eyes squinted so much they almost closed. In front of her, Emma stood with the hot chocolate, some aspirin, and a pair of sunglasses.

"Thanks." Mary Margaret mumbled.

"I really hope you perk up by the time you leave here." Emma commented.

"Let's see if can even leave." She replied.

"You have to go to school. Don't let Regina get the satisfaction of hurting you so bad you get drunk, and end up with a nasty hangover."

"I'm really not up for a pep-talk. And thanks for reminding me about David." Mary Margaret felt _so_ sick, she literally couldn't cry, otherwise she would've.

"Oops." Emma said. "Sorry, I didn't think. I'm not used to um…" She didn't want to insult the brunette, so she let the sentence hang.

"Worrying about hurting somebody's feelings?" Mary Margaret finished.

"Yeah." Emma smiled an apology.

"Don't worry about it. You know, for some reason, I feel like I wasn't always this weak." She said.

"You're not weak. You went against what Regina said, Mary. That takes strength." Emma said.

"Thanks." She smiled. "Crap! I have to go, I overslept!" The alarmed brunette bolted up from the table, and ran to her room to get changed. Emma chuckled to herself at her friend's antics. 5 minutes later, Mary Margaret came out of her room, looking perfect.

"How do you get ready that fast?" Emma asked, looking at her incredulously.

"My hair doesn't really take that much work, and I don't wear that much makeup, and I plan my outfit the night before. You should try it sometime." With that, she booked it out the door.

"Well", Emma said to herself, "I guess I'll go give a few people a piece of my mind."

Dressed in jeans, white tank top, red leather jacket, and clad in boots, Emma strutted up to David Nolan, who sat in one of the booths at Granny's Diner. She didn't bother asking if she could sit.

"Hi, Emma." David smiled, but frowned when he saw her glare. "Look, I'm sure you're mad about what I did to Mary Margaret- but honestly, I was doing the right thing. I started remembering, and I remember that I loved Kathryn. We weren't on the best of terms, and we were trying to work it out. I owe it to her to try." He said.

"Seriously pissed would be an understatement." Emma spat. She let David squirm under her glare for a few more moments, then continued. "Do you have any idea what you did to her? She's nursing one of the worst hangovers I've ever seen, and believe me, I've seen plenty of miserable drunks. So you know what? Stay away from her. Cause if you don't, I'm going to hurt you." With that, Emma stalked away, letting her words sink in. David gulped, and made a mental note to buy a cup. He wasn't sure if Emma was a puncher or a kicker, but figured with his luck, it'd be both.

Once school was out for the day, Mary Margaret went to the station to talk to Graham, knowing Emma was out on her shift.

"Sheriff, do you have a minute?" She asked.

"Of course." Graham smiled.

"I'm not even sure if this is good idea, because we all know how Emma is, but I just think you should know that you really hurt her last night. She trusted you, and you let her down. She doesn't trust just anyone, Sheriff. You should've been thankful. Deep down, you're a nice, caring guy, but you royally screwed up. Apologize to her. It's the least you can do."

"I never meant for her to get hurt." Graham said. "We all know what happens when Regina doesn't get her way. I didn't want to get her wrath. She is capable of destroying people, ok? I had no choice, if I didn't, she'd do something bad to me." He explained.

"Then grow a pair." Emma stomped in, and threw her bag down at her desk.

"Hi!" Mary Margaret attempted cheer.

"Go home, I'll be there soon." Emma said.

"Ok." the brunette left with giving Graham a nod goodbye.

"How much of that did you hear?" Graham asked. Emma mentally cursed herself. _Stop focusing on his adorable accent_.

"Only the Regina part." She answered.

"Emma, I really am sorry. You weren't supposed to know."

"You lied to me!" _And damn it, I'm supposed to be able to tell_.

"Half lied. I really do work at the shelter." He justified.

"That's still a lie." Emma said.

"How can I make it up to you?" He asked, taking a step closer.

"Stand up to her." She said.

"It's not that simple." Graham said, dropping his gaze.

"Yeah, it really is." Emma replied, and started to gather her things.

"Maybe for you! You're Emma Swan, the tough-as-nails badass! Why the hell do you think I hired you?"

"As an act of defiance against Regina." She answered simply. She might've been mad at him, disgusted even, but if empowering him helped take Regina down, she was all for it.

When Emma walked through her roommate's door, she was greeted with the comforting scent of hot chocolate and cinnamon.

"Here." Mary Margaret smiled, handing her a cup, reciprocating the morning's events.

"Thanks." Emma smiled back.

"Are you mad?" She asked.

"Why would I be mad?" Emma was confused.

"I talked to Graham…"

"It's ok. Normally I'd be mad, but it's too hard to be mad at you. You only try to do the right thing." She replied.

"Ok, good." Relief flooded Mary Margaret's face.

"You should know that I, uh, may or may not have talked to David." Emma scratched her head.

"Talked or threatened?" To Emma's surprise, Mary Margaret smiled.

"Uh, both." Emma said.

"Thank you. It wasn't so threatening that you'll get arrested again, right?"

"Graham doesn't have the guts to arrest me after what he did. And Regina will need to be careful, too." For the first time that day, Emma actually felt relatively positive.

"Well, cheers to a successful day." Mary Margaret held up her mug. Emma copied her. The only sounds in the apartment were _clanks_ and laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

**THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT, GUYS. WOW, THAT EPISODE… JUST WOW. **

**DON'T OWN IT.**

Emma composed herself long enough to call Mary Margaret. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Can you come down to the station?"

"Emma, is everything okay?" The brunette's voice was laced with concern.

"Graham isn't." She fought back more tears. "He's dead."

"Oh my God. I'll be right there. Are you going to be okay until I get there?" Mary Margaret grabbed her keys off the counter and all but ran down the stairs.

"What choice do I have?" With that, Emma hung up.

Mary Margaret ran into the station.

"Emma!"

"In here." She replied.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." Mary Margaret's hands flew up to her mouth. "What happened?"

"I think it was a heart attack." Emma said, her voice wavering again. Mary Margaret looked over to her with concern. The blonde just couldn't ever get a break, could she?

"What should we do?"

"I'd say call the police, but I _am_ the police." Emma said. "Except I'm a better bail bonds person, so I don't know what to do with a homicide."

"Homicide? But you were the only one who could've murdered him, you were the only one with him." Mary Margaret was very confused.

"Regina probably poisoned him or something." Emma grumbled.

"Now Emma, don't think like that. I agree she's not the best person in the world, but you

can't judge someone until you know the whole story." Mary Margaret adopted her teacher voice.

"All you people in this town are too nice." Emma said, pulling out her cell phone.

"What're you doing?"

"Calling _Madame Mayor_." Emma replied bitterly.

"What-why?"

"I don't know what she wants me to do about this."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if you hit her again?" Mary Margaret asked.

"First, she started it. Second, so what if I hit her? Graham had to pull me off her, so the only one who should be worried is her. Lastly, how did you find out?"

"It's a small town." Mary Margaret shrugged, a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Who told you?" Said Emma.

"Henry."

"Henry knows!"

"He saw Mayor Regina's lip… and guessed it was you because you're the only one crazy enough to punch her." Mary Margaret explained.

"I'll give him one thing. The kid's smart. Okay, here goes nothing." Emma hit talk, and put it on speaker, just so Mary Margaret could hear.

"Yes, Ms. Swan?" Regina answered.

"We have a body at the station. Victim's name is Graham." Emma said evenly, somehow keeping the fury and pain out of her voice.

"What do you want me to do about it? You're the Deputy." Regina said.

"Graham never told me what to do with a body. Apparently, there weren't ever any unattended deaths in Storybrooke." Emma snapped. She really wasn't in the mood for this right now.

"Unless you killed him, it wasn't murder." Regina said.

"Of course." The blonde did her best to keep the hatred out of her voice. She would've loved to tell the mayor her theory surrounding Graham's death, but she couldn't even make a case.

"You didn't kill him, did you?"

"Seriously, Regina, I'm not in the mood for this! Graham was like a father to Henry. I wouldn't kill someone he obviously valued so much." _The man I loved_, she silently added. Finally, the weight of her decision crushed Regina. She now realized she had killed Henry's only father figure, and the man she thought she had loved. In her fit of rage, she had lost yet another battle to Emma Swan. Henry might never forgive her for what she did.

"Ms. Swan, please call the hospital and they'll send a coroner out. We'll talk again when you get the autopsy results." With that, Regina hung up.

"She seemed… nice." Mary Margaret said, with a bewildered look on her face.

Emma shrugged. "I made her realize that she killed Henry's 'father'" Emma put air quotes around _father_. "Mary Margaret, you should go. You don't need to be here, and it's late."

"No way." The brunette shook her head. "You're not okay. You called me for a reason. I'm not going." An unusual determination shown in her eyes. Emma figured it was nothing. What she didn't know was that it was protectiveness.

"I'm fine. I was a little shaken up, but I'm fine now." Her wall was back up, stronger than ever.

"I'll compromise. I'll wait in the car, then I'm driving you home. The last thing you need is to get drunk and have a hangover tomorrow. You'll need to be in tip-top shape to deal with Mayor Regina." Mary Margaret said.

"Stop doing that." Emma whined with an annoyed look plastered on her face.

"Doing what?"

"Acting like my mom."

"Sorry. So, I'll be in the car."

"Fine." Emma pouted. "But I'm not driving with you. You can tail me."

"That wasn't in the agreement, Emma."

"The last thing people need to see is the to-be-Sheriff getting driven home." Emma said.

"Ok. Ok. See you in a bit."

20 minutes later, Mary Margaret saw a body in a black bag being clumsily rolled out on a gurney. It was now that she realized the coroners never had to get a body. A few minutes later, Emma came out.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" Mary Margaret asked one more time.

"Yeah." Emma replied. She slammed her car door for good measure. The brunette rubbed her temples. This was going to be a long night.

They got back to the apartment a little after 12:30. She opened the door for Emma, just to make sure she didn't slam that one, too. It would wake the neighbors. The gesture's purpose was defeated, when Emma ran up the stairs making a racket, then closed her door with a lot more force than necessary. Mary Margaret sighed. She immediately put the water on for hot chocolate. Then she heard things shattering and bangs. She sighed again, and quietly walked up and knocked on her roommate's door.

"Emma, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Emma." Mary Margaret said sternly, and opened the door. The room looked like a tornado had gone through it, but she honestly wasn't too surprised. "Are you looking for something?"

"No."

"Then why does it look like World War III in here?" She stepped into the tiny room, and took note of the glass on the floor. "Okay, that's it. You're going downstairs. You're going to cut yourself on the glass."

"I'm wearing socks." Emma protested.

"Emma, come on."

"No." Finally, she turned to face her. Mary Margaret saw her disheveled hair and tearstained cheeks, and guided the taller woman into a tight embrace. Emma stiffened at first, then relaxed.

"Emma, it's going to be okay." Mary Margaret said.

"We were about to kiss… and _she_ ruined it." Emma said.

"You can't know that."

"He was healthy! People like him don't just keel over!" Emma pulled back.

"We'll know more when the autopsy is done. For now, how about some hot chocolate and bed?" Mary Margaret smiled at her.

"Fine."

Mary Margaret didn't know that Emma cried herself to sleep that night. But she also didn't know that she made Emma's world so much better, just by being there for her.


End file.
